Gates Hints at More Secret Nuke Sites in Iran

Speaking alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last night at a CNN/George Washington University forum, Gates addressed a wide variety of topics, the Secretary of Defense dropped what seemed to be a big hint that the United States knows much more about the Iranian nuclear program than the Iranians might think.

Asked about his faith in potential verification protocols for Iran’s nuclear program, Gates commented that the administration’s attitudes towards Iran in the negotiations process would hinge on “what nuclear sites might they be prepared to be transparent about that have not been declared at this point.”

Sure sounds like he’s talking about more secret nuclear sites in Iran. It certainly goes beyond the more guarded comments Gates gave on the subject to ABC ten days back.

Spies and analysts have peculated for years that Tehran has a slew of clandestine nuclear facilities. Last month, President Obama publicly confirmed those guesses, revealing that Iran’s hidden nuclear enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom. Some experts have argued that the Qom facility only makes sense as part of a larger network of hidden nuclear facilities. ArmsControlWonk’s Joshua Pollack provides a helpful roundup of the various analyses on the prospect, but wisely cautions that other explanations are possible.

It’s also worth noting yet another interpretation: Gates might be bluffing and there might not be more undeclared sites. Maybe we’ll learn more, as talks with Iran progress — and more international atomic inspectors are allowed to sniff around Iran’s nuclear sites.